


Acting on Instinct

by ByTheAngell (SomeLittleInfamy)



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Feelings, Hurt/Comfort, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-23
Updated: 2020-02-23
Packaged: 2021-02-28 01:48:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,921
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22855753
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SomeLittleInfamy/pseuds/ByTheAngell
Summary: When Ragnor finds himself injured and at the end of his magic reserves, he opens a portal to somewhere safe, someone he can trust.He isn't surprised to find himself waking up at Raphael's.
Relationships: Ragnor Fell/Raphael Santiago
Comments: 10
Kudos: 51
Collections: SHBingo





	Acting on Instinct

**Author's Note:**

> For my Shadowhunters Bingo square: Portals

Ragnor curses himself for not bringing Magnus or Catarina along with him as he stares down more demons than he can possibly fight off on his own. He certainly regrets not telling anyone where he was going. It was a foolish move, one bred from his overconfidence and determination to pay back a debt owed to an old friend on his own, without having to call on any favors of his own to help.

It should’ve been simple enough for him to handle, in his defense.

The demon infestation his old friend, a warlock named Bartholomew Locke wrote him about wasn’t a large one, but it was a temperamental one: there were some very specifically spelled weapons and potions with ingredients Ragnor was intimately familiar with after studying them in years past, making him uniquely positioned to deal with this particular problem the most efficiently. If the reports he got were accurate, what he arrived with would’ve been more than enough to handle the situation and save Locke and the surrounding village some strife.

Unfortunately, Locke only knew of _one_ small concentration of the demons plaguing his village. And when Ragnor went to take care of them, the _rest_ of the nest came in droves. And now here he stands, expelling more magic than he built up reserves to use, in an attempt to keep poisoned talons at bay. It’s easily enough work for three, maybe four, warlocks to handle as a team, but he’s entirely alone and his strength is fading by the second.

Perhaps he should be a little more careful with what he agrees to take on in the future.

If he has a future.

There are several moments during the fight that Ragnor considers opening a portal and leaving, but several things stop him. If he leaves now, with the demons active and riled up, he’s practically begging for them to take that rage out on the nearby village, and if Locke thought he could handle this then he would’ve already. And if Ragnor backtracks there himself the demons are going to follow his scent, and he’ll _definitely_ be leading them right to easy prey. If one of the women or children there got so much as a scratch because of his own failure he’d never forgive himself.

So he stayed, and he fought until it was all he could do to prop himself against a nearby tree and wait for them to attack him, getting close enough for him to fight back with minimal exertion. It was a slow, arduous process, and the last of the demons got in a few good swipes that tore through his shirt and pants. Ragnor could feel the stiffness that precedes paralysis start to set in as he slices a spelled blade through the very last of the demons.

He wants to collapse in relief now that it’s over but he knows once he does he won’t be able to stand back up again. Instead, he focuses on getting to help, to someone he trusts. Ragnor isn’t sure he’s going to have enough magic left to open a portal, and after one failed attempt that flickers and fades he manages to open one and keep it open just long enough to stumble through before it closes behind him, and everything goes black.

\---

“I can’t believe you showed up on my doorstep to die.”

Hardly the most comforting first words to hear upon waking up, but they bring a small, weak smile to his face just the same. He recognizes that exasperated voice as belonging to one Raphael Santiago - and if the fact that he wakes up _at all_ after the shape he was in isn’t enough to tell him he’s going to be okay then knowing he’s with Raphael is all the further reassurance he needs.

“I didn’t, did I?” Ragnor counters, acutely aware as he tries to speak that even breathing hurts and every muscle in his body aches. “‘Knew you’d save me.”

Raphael only shakes his head, pacing back and forth in front of the bed Ragnor finds himself resting in, covers pulled up to his chin and carefully tucked-in under his sides.

“Why?” Raphael asks suddenly.

“Why… did I know you’d save me?” Ragnor asks, not sure he understands. It could be the haze he’s still waking up from as the antidote makes its way through his system. He likes to think he hasn’t misread his relationship with Raphael enough to think the vampire _wouldn’t_ save him, considering… well, _considering_. They haven’t specifically talked about it yet but the two of them are spending more and more time together lately, and Ragnor thinks there’s something there. He _hopes_ there is.

“Why did you come here?” Raphael rephrases. “Why not go to Cat... or even Magnus? Why me?”

Ragnor doesn’t answer right away. He isn’t sure he _has_ an answer, not one that Raphael is going to believe, but he supposes he owes it to both of them to try anyway.

“I didn’t specifically think of you,” Ragnor admits. “I just remember thinking… I knew that I needed somewhere safe, with someone I trusted with my life. And then I was here.”

He lets the implication of that sink in. Raphael is his safe place - not just a source of comfort and understanding, but someone Ragnor fully trusts to protect him in the vulnerable state he arrived in. They both know that Catarina and Magnus both fall into those categories but they weren’t where his subconscious instincts took him.

Raphael’s confusion fades to a soft, almost flustered expression. “I-” Raphael starts, but stops before he says more than the single syllable, and Ragnor wonders if admitting all of that was a mistake. Maybe he was wildly off-base to think the vampire had similar feelings.

“You’re those things for me, too,” Raphael finally continues, clearing his throat, and Ragnor’s heart feels lighter than it has in years.

“Now go back to sleep. You’re still weak. I got enough of the antidote in you so you didn’t die, but the worst of it is still clearing out of your system.”

The antidote… but Ragnor didn’t have any left when he came through the portal. He looks around the room and spots a small pewter pot in the corner of the room where, he has to assume, Raphael had made another batch of the antidote Ragnor had on him to give to Locke from scratch.

A small twitch of a smirk crosses Ragnor’s lips. “You _were_ watching me work,” Ragnor teases. It’s become a frequent habit for the two of them to meet up a few times a week, often for Ragnor to take Raphael someplace he hasn’t been before but always wanted to see, even if it’s just for an hour or so. Last night Ragnor tried to cancel in favor of preparing for his little demon-killing excursion, but instead, Raphael insisted on simply coming over to keep him company while he worked. Except for every time Ragnor thought he caught Raphael staring while he worked Raphael swore up and down that he wasn’t.

Not only _was_ Raphael watching, but he was watching close enough to notice which ingredients Ragnor had been using and what he made with them.

“Maybe I was,” Raphael admits. “But you don’t get all the credit - I _was_ practically raised by Magnus, you know. You don’t spend that much time with a warlock without picking up a thing or two about magical remedies, especially when said warlock isn’t the best at healing magic.”

Ragnor can’t help the bark of a laugh that escapes him at that backhanded compliment about Magnus’ teaching skills, but the laugh quickly turns to a cough which leaves his entire body shaking from the effort. Raphael is at his side before he can process the movement, a hand placed gently on his chest to keep him still.

“Are you alright?” Raphael asks, and now there’s no masking the concern.

“Fine. Sorry,” Ragnor says the moment he can speak again. He doesn’t want to make Raphael worry though he knows it’s a bit too late for that.

“I can stay…” Raphael offers. “Just until you fall asleep?”

“You don’t have to-” Ragnor starts, adding quickly after watching the way Raphael’s face drops in disappointment for just a moment before he covers it. “But it would be nice if you did.”

Ragnor tells himself he wants Raphael to stay just in case something goes wrong or he takes a sudden turn for the worse, but he knows that’s a lie - he can at least admit to himself that he wants Raphael as close as possible as often as possible. He just doesn’t want Raphael to stay out of a sense of obligation because Ragnor decided to throw himself onto his doorstep. Raphael didn’t _ask_ for this responsibility, after all, no matter how close they’ve grown lately.

Ragnor figures Raphael will take the chair near the bed to watch over him, but when Raphael toes off his dress shoes and slides into the bed beside him, an arm moving to wrap carefully around his chest, Ragnor melts against the unexpected touch. They don’t talk, they don’t have to. It’s just enough to be present together, and it’s perfect.

Despite the aches lingering throughout most of his body, Ragnor sleeps better than he has in decades.

\---

When he wakes up in the morning he expects Raphael to be gone and finds himself surprised to feel that comforting weight draped over him still.

“How do you feel?” Raphael asks the second Ragnor stirs.

“Better than I have in a long time,” Ragnor admits. He wonders if Raphael knows he isn’t just talking about the antidote. “A guy could get used to waking up like this,” he adds coyly.

“Mmm, don’t get too comfortable, Fell,” Raphael replies, but with a tone of gentle teasing.

“Perhaps I should nearly die more often,” Ragnor muses. He’s obviously joking but he can feel Raphael tense behind him at the mere suggestion.

“Don’t you dare,” Raphael chastises immediately. “Perhaps…” Raphael starts again but hesitates before falling silent again.

“What is it?” Ragnor prompts, cringing a bit as he shifts in the bed so that he’s laying on his other side, facing Raphael.

“I was wondering if you’d like to do this again sometime, but _without_ the near-death experience preceding it. Maybe… dinner, instead.”

Ragnor smiles. “Raphael, are you asking me out on a _date_?”

“Not if you’re going to be a _cabrón_ about it,” Raphael mutters, and Ragnor only smiles wider _._

“Dinner sounds perfect,” Ragnor agrees quickly before Raphael can take the offer back, not that he thinks he actually would. He doesn’t point out that Ragnor is the only one of them that actually eats.

“Good.” And then, after only the briefest of pauses, Raphael shifts ever so slightly so he can lean in far enough to place a quick kiss on his forehead before quickly turning to get out of bed. “I have some things to take care of quickly, but I’ll be back to check in on you, and I’ll bring breakfast.”

Ragnor hums his agreement of that plan as Raphael leaves, still smiling to himself. He knows if it weren’t Raphael he could have Magnus or Catarina looking after him, but this is different. This is better, in little ways he tries not to let himself dwell over too much this early on.

Except yes, Ragnor thinks with overwhelming certainty, he can definitely get used to this.

**Author's Note:**

> (Find me on [Tumblr](http://bytheangell.tumblr.com) and also on [Twitter](http://www.twitter.com/By_The_Angell)! <3 )


End file.
